Gonzalo Higuain: How Former Real Madrid, Napoli and Chelsea Striker Denied Lionel Messi a World Cup Title

• Gonzalo Higuain's records at club level, especially at Napoli, will forever be legendary as he prepares to exit the football scene
• But he will find it extremely hard to shake off the unfortunate misses of the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil against Germany
• Higuain had a couple of decent chances to win the game for Argentina but failed to do so

Gonzalo Higuain's recent announcement that he is set to retire from playing football has evoked memories of a butter World Cup final in 2014 for Argentina.

Higuain was guilty of missing point-blank chances and failing to score as Lionel Messi's Argentina painfully lost out to Germany.

It was set to Messi's moment of reckoning to win an international trophy and emulate the great Diego Maradona.

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Argentina's run to the final had been near-perfect, which started with collecting maximum points against a group that had Nigeria, Bosnia and Iran. They then saw off Switzerland in the round of 16 before a Higuain early strike saw them beat Belgium in the quarter-finals.

The Alejandro Sabella side held their nerves against the Netherlands in the semifinals to set up a date with Germany, who had just embarrassed hosts Brazil 7-1 in the other semi.

The script was perfectly written for Messi and Argentina to win the trophy on the soil of their South American rivals. But Higuain had other ideas.

El PIpita, as he was commonly referred to, started up front alongside Messi and Ezequiel Lavezzi. The striker had at least three clear-cut chances on goal. He failed to convert twice while the other one was chalked for offside.

In one chance, he only had Manuel Neuer to beat after being put through by a woeful backpass. He got his angles wrong as he dragged the effort wide off the goal.

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He was also guilty of failing to realise that a teammate had made a wonderful run in front of him. He was eventually hooked off with 12 minutes on the clock remaining.

Gotze delivered the suckerpunch

Mario Gotze would later come off the bench for Joachim Loew to sink Argentina's hearts.

Givemesport reports that Higuain once revealed that he had contemplated getting from football after that match. He admitted that the abuse he got after the match took a heavy toll on him.

Argentina fared badly four years later in Russia, but they look like a decent side ahead of the Qatar World Cup. Now with Lautaro Martinez and the ageing Lionel Messi leading the line, perhaps Albiceleste can right the wrongs of 2014.

Gonzalo Higuain breaks down in tears as he announces his retirement

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Gonzalo Higuain could not fight back his tears as he announced his decision to call time on his illustrious playing career, which has seen him play in Spain, Italy, England and now the United States.

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Higuain's decision to draw the curtain on his career comes in the wake of a fine goal-scoring form for Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami, scoring 12 goals in his last 14 matches.

The 34-year-old's playing career has been littered with a truckload of trophies while playing for some of Europe's premier clubs - Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and Napoli.